Douglas Blyde: a gourmet voyage through Chile with Viña Ventisquero

Harper's Wine & Spirit recently ventured to a raucous lunch at Marylebone's Pied à Terre restaurant. Hosted by Felipe Tosso, gourmet, guitarist and head winemaker of five of Coastal Maipo Valley based winery, Viña Ventisquero attendees included dynamic sommeliers from a selection of Britain's leading venues.

They were : Serdar Balkaya (Hakkasan), Stephen Nisbet (L'Ortolan), Rafael C Castro (Pacific Oriental), Manuel Yunda (Uno Victoria) Sam Heathcote (Alain Ducasse), Stefan Neumann (The Fat Duck), Julien Sahut (China Tang), Tamara Archer (Halkin Hotel) and Lukasz Jan Kolodzieyczyk (The Fat Duck).

Tosso, who previously worked as a civil engineer and once seriously considered becoming a professional tennis player, joined the Chilean producer in inaugural year (2000). Coming to the end of a three week-long tour during which he took in some 11 countries including artisan Lithuanian grape growers and enthusiastic sommeliers 'just starting out' in Russia, he was today keen to vocalise his mission to see Chilean wines considered as contenders for top wine lists.

To further this aim, preceding lunch, Tosso held a blind tasting of 16 predominantly youthful expressions crafted by his own hands and those of other recognised leading Chileans at Pied à Terre's bar counter, marked with designer sauce stains. Showing particularly well for your reporter were Ventisquero's Grey Single Block Chardonnay 2009 (pitched beside Leyda Chardonnay Lot 5 Wild Yeasts 2009) and Grey Single Block Carménère 2009 (versus Concha Y Toro Terrunyo Carménère 2009).

The ensuing lunch, cooked by chef, Marcus Eaves who trained at the restaurant before realising a Michelin star at sister site, L'Autre Pied, and now returned, included tender veal sweetbread with painstakingly stuffed pig trotters and delicate liquorice sauce, partnered with Herú Pinot Noir, and roast loin of hare with squash and chocolate and game jus, with Vertice 2009 (which the restaurant ordinarily stocks).

Following each of the five courses, sommeliers vocalised their thoughts on the accuracy of the matches, much to the intrigue of Pied à Terre's own sommelier, Mathieu Germon. The day ended at The Lanesborough's cigar terrace where debate as to whether Chile's top end bottles deserve to be listed on top end restaurants' wine lists ensued. The consensus was, broadly speaking, that they do...

Follow Tosso on Twitter - @felipetossouu

www.ventisquero.com

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